Saturday, February 20, 2016

What's Really Motivating Grab For More Metered Spaces In Downtown Residential Neighborhoods

Residents of Chatham Arch awakened one day recently to see parking meter poles being installed in residential areas where parking was previously unrestricted. This was not unlike the manner in which city officials went about taking dozens of parking spaces in downtown business and residential areas for the exclusive use of Blue Indy, the electric car sharing company from France that somehow got our corrupt former mayor to enter into an illegal, one-sided 15-year agreement that our City-County Council members like to wring their hands about but do nothing to change.

Residents of Chatham Arch showed up at this past week's meeting of the Public Works Committee, which is chaired by my councilor, Zach Adamson. Those in attendance were treated to the feigned outrage of committee members, including my councilor, over the City's actions, that the city would convert unrestricted parking spaces in a residential neighborhood without any prior discussion with neighborhood associations. I say feigned because these same members earlier in the meeting tripped all over each other to heap praise on Lori Miser, an extremely condescending person in her dealings with the public who has built her household's wealth through the revolving door between key jobs she's held in our city government and city contractors with whom she has conducted business, supposedly on the public's behalf. Her husband holds a job in Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard's administration.

According to Ms. Miser, the City did have discussions with one organization. That would be the Mass Avenue Merchants Association, which is chaired by Cassie Stockamp, the president of the Atheneum Foundation and an unapologetic booster of Blue Indy. If it was left up to Stockamp, the City would pass an ordinance mandating that all Indianapolis residents  be required to give up their personal cars and ride the bus or use Blue Indy's car sharing service. Notice again the complete disconnect from council members feigned outrage at the deals entered into with Blue Indy and Vision Fleet, both of which Miser shared responsibility for saddling us with during her previous service as DPW director for Mayor Greg Ballard.

Now that we have a new mayor, all talk of undoing the Blue Indy and Vision Fleet deals, both of which were clearly entered into in violation of multiple state and local laws, has ceased and Miser is back in charge of the city department that gave birth to those deals. Instead, my councilor assures me the council is working with the city and these vendors to improve those two leases. Again, a reminder that it is all feigned outrage. On the surface, the reason the City is now reaching into residential neighborhoods and creating new metered spaces is to address growing parking problems that have arisen in the Mass Avenue corridor due to the expanding number of businesses operating there and the glut of cheaply-built apartment buildings the City approved to be built without considering the short-term, let alone the long-term problems that will haunt this area in future years and turn it from a thriving area to one that will be avoided at all costs. The serious crime wave problem is coming. Just give it time.

The immediate and real reason the City is gobbling up more parking spaces in residential areas in the downtown area for metered spaces is to address the revenue issue created by all of those metered spaces it lost when it made that corrupt and illegal deal with Blue Indy. Because our metered assets are now owned by Park Indy, a private metering consortium consisting of Xerox, Denison Parking and Even Times, Indianapolis is required under the terms of their 50-year lease to either replace or reimburse the company for lost revenues from any metered spaces taken out of use. As a consequence, the City's small share of parking meter revenues under that 50-year lease agreement will dwindle considerably unless the City finds new metered spaces to make up for all of those parking spaces consumed by Blue Indy. These are the facts your elected officials won't talk to you about because they really don't give a damn what you think. They only care about who is greasing their palms.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adamson sounds pretty useless as a member of the council! He should be replaced by a trained seal!

Anonymous said...

Adamson is definitely not a friend to landlords or their issues. Wants them all regulated, fined and prosecuted. No telling him that there is a difference between out of town landlords who can't be reached and locals who are around all the time. No difference to him. "Why wouldn't a landlord welcome the additional regulation and inspection in order to be a better landlord?" Big talk from a hairdresser. He wants us all to be inspected, but I've seen his house, nothing special, and I doubt its up to the precious code he thinks everybody else should be mandated to come to. I"m not surprised he's duplicitous in his statements on the parking issue. I don't see them putting meters on his street or parking BlueIndy in front of his house.

Anonymous said...


THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Gary, for continuing to proclaim the truth about our feckless, useless, insincere City County Councilors.

You nailed it that all these privileged and power-hungry politicos can do is wring their limp wrists over Greg Ballard's illegal Blue Indy and Vision Fleet. Downtown is now a zoo of congestion damaged by the loss of architectural fabric and history to special insider deals our councilors were first against before they for proponents. Downtown Indy is more and more unlivable by the day it seems. Is there any so-called "public-private partnership" that enriches the few to the peril of the many that our pathetic CC Councilors will not stand up to? and say "No"?!?

Isn't it just amazing to see the non-stop drama your Councilor plays about Blue Indy and Vision Fleet. Typical of career politicians, he now wants to "improve" the illegal leases he once said he was completely against. Every bit of that corruption they allowed is still there and it's going to get worse.

Liberal Democrat Zach Adamson also thinks his and other CC Councilors salaries should be raised. I don't know what the hell for other than to pay for the comedy show he and his other CC Councilor jokes give us on an almost daily basis.

The time is right to ABOLISH THE INDIANAPOLIS CITY COUNTY COUNCIL!!!

Anonymous said...

A rather different Anonymous claims that the expense of training a seal is not required. An untrained seal would be an improvement.

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, it is wrong to place a commercial enterprise (parking meters)in front of single family homes-even if the ROW is used as the excuse for approval.

Anonymous said...


I grew so damned tired of searching, searching, and searching for nearby, free downtown parking spaces (which used to exist pre-Ballard Parking Meter Deal and pre-Ballard/City County Council Blue Indy) that I gave up my downtown hair stylist and found one outside Center Township in a strip mall with loads and loads and loads of free parking spaces.

The aggravation of trying to park anywhere close to the Mass Av area bars and restaurants has me dining ex-urban.

How long will it be before business or enterprises and organizations like Chatham Arch's Phoenix Theater run from their locations because there just is not enough parking- free for forced tribute??? Let's hear your Councilor talk about that.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate some people will take issue with this, but here goes: on the order of unintended consequences, what pray tell do you suppose this is doing for the suburb crowd coming downtown for a day or night of client entertaining/family outing, etc? as a former season tix holder of one of the sports teams down there, we formerly would come downtown and entertain clients, dine, drink, basically spend money; now, its too much of a PITA and I'm not longer willing to suffer homeless people affront my wife or daughter. downtown indy can go to f'ing hell for all I care, never again. there are PLENTY of arts/cultural items and good restaurants where I live, thank you very much; even a parasite knows it can only suck so much blood before it dies along with its taxpayer . . .

Anonymous said...

The new parking meter installations may swift retribution for the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association's recent remonstration before the Historic Preservation Committee which resulted in the denial of BlueIndy's ability to install new Mass Ave. area charging stations and one kiosk.
The bad Ballard parking deal will not fall under its own weight as may the BlueIndy experiment. In testimony elicited by the Indiana Regulatory Commission concerning the viability of the BlueIndy project, the Deputy Mayor and also Ballard's Director of Enterprise Development, David Rosenberg, testified that the breakeven BI point would be 20,000 annual members at $150 to $200 per year and a first 20 minute usage fee of $6. Enrollment is now at $120 and $4. With the request for $19.415 million from IPL rate payers being reduced to $3.7 million for just line extensions, it would seem that this money must be garnered from somewhere. The city is already out $16.872 million in give ups and BlueIndy has $35 million at stake. Ballard promised to have 10% of city government vehicles under BI patronage and businesses and universities are being prodded to contract with BI. If all of those who thought that BI was such a great idea actually used the service, membership might not be a problem but if the 1,000 member figure is accurate there is a long time frame before profitability.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 2:46, I'll bite...Good lord people! In what big city are you guaranteed free parking and a homeless-people-free environment? We live in Zionsville and can stay in the village for dinner and drinks with free parking. However, about once a month we chose to head to Downtown/Mass Ave/Fountain Square/Fletcher Place for dinner and drinks. Paying for parking is just part of the experience. And yes, we may have to walk past a beggar shaking a cup. Guess what, we just keep walking and our experience is not compromised. I'll take that experience over your "Unlimited bread sticks at Olive Garden-night in the strip mall" any day or night. Why do people lose their ever loving minds about paying $5-$10 for parking for a night when they're dropping $100 or more on dinner? Complaining about lack of free parking makes you look cheap and hayseed...just saying.

Anonymous said...

ok i'll bite, I'm 2:46 poster. its not free parking and its not olive garden; its hassle factor. altho I like olive garden, you have to concede even in Zionsville there are some good options, better than OG. and its not a guy shaking a cup, for which I give when I perceive some sincerity. rather, its catcalling, its an attitude, its the indy powers that be that think they can just find new revenue sources at will and that we'll keep paying it. there are good, really good, alternatives to downtown. as in good culture, good food. if you don't think so I'd be inclined to think you're not sincere or really a suburbanite. downtown will always have a draw, just not for my $$$ and I'm not alone. that is or should be a problem for the rah rah downtown crowd. or not, I don't really care as it will never effect me. patronize all u want, but you are sincerely wrong on this one, friend.

Pete Boggs said...

Miser and company are symptoms of a corrupt system & failed oversight.

Anonymous said...


And, Pete Boggs 11:48, our current City County Council is part and parcel of that failure.

It must be abolished for something that works for the people.

Anonymous said...

We've experienced government by fiat under Ballard and it brought us; the World Sports Park aka a cricket field; Vision Fleet; BlueIndy; ACS parking contract; Justice Center expenditures; Public Safety taxes wasted; and a host of giveaways and other misappropriations. This is the disarray that takes place when expenditures are not preapproved by the CCC before contracts are signed. Without oversight it is like GWB said, "It would be a lot easier if I were dictator." And Ballard saw the advantage in redesigning the landscape from the 25th floor negating any CCC oversight. As far as those requesting a place at the trough, the CCC provides a degree of transparency and an avenue for remonstrance whether we agree with their consensus or not.

Anonymous said...



IF ONLY the City County Council provided an iota or a semblance of a "degree of transparency and an avenue for remonstrance whether we agree with their consensus or not."

The CCC proved it is wholly impotent and unwilling to the task of standing up to crony-focused lawless bullies- the prickly and arrogant Greg Ballard rockets to mind- who are determined to break any civil and criminal law we everyday hardworking paycheck to paycheck taxpayers are forced to follow.

All these CCC weak-kneed politicos can do after their total lack of utility to the people is exposed in the light of day is spin their thoughtless positions in being "for" the deals they once said they were "against", in "adjusting" the deals that from the get-go were harmful to the public weal. One need only look at how the two-faced, double-talking Lockerbie/Chatham Arch and Fketcher Place area Councilors perform- and how they have performed is quite sad and without intelligence.

Thank you for validating my point. Your CCC has done so very little to none of what you wrote.

Transparency? Remonstrance?? And to what effect? Seriously??? The people can see that no matter what they say, no matter how they try to enter the process to effect change, the system is corrupt as are the power brokers running it. And doesn't it seem that the power brokers running the Democrat and Republican systems are often attorneys sworn to uphold the law not prostitute it.

The CCC shows time and time again it is mostly a gaggle of career political parasites who seem to prove they are vastly more interested in personal power, privilege, and payola. Instead of actually performing for the people, the actions (or inaction) of the CCC seem to more perform for those "requesting a place at the trough". The "requesters at the trough" sure do seem to get what they want virtually every time at the peoples' expense, the people be damned, no matter who much sensible remonstrance by the people.

ABOLISH THE CITY COUNTY COUNCIL! In the meantime, let us work to cut the City County Councilors' pay rate as a counter balance for unreasonable and unsustainable demands their salary be increased.

Anonymous said...

And you will replace the CCC with what? Maybe just get the greatest negotiators in the world and everyone will love and it will be great, it will be phenomenal, and the contracts will be very, very, very great and everyone will be happy.

Pete Boggs said...

Anon 12:40: Results would be better if we replaced them with a hard drive & good software; Constitutionally capable of executing citizen code as entered...